Week 2 Discussion Reply

Hello everyone,

As the leader of this week’s discussion, I am sharing with you guys the article I choose and showing the reasons why I think that this article could contribute to our understanding of this week’s materials. Chapter 8 of our book is about the international Legal Environment of Business that I found to be very interesting, and that is the reason why I choose to write about that specific topic.

The article is about the international legal environment, judicial Independence and Efficiency, Legal Systems, Principles of International Law, and The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. The article gives us an idea about how the International Legal Environment can be complex and can vary from one country to another. “Firms operating internationally face major challenges in conforming to different laws, regulations, and legal systems in different countries” (Sarkar, 2016a). As we know from a country to another the law may change based on different factors. We understand then that is crucial to know about everything concerning the law of the country we are intending to do business with to avoid any type of conflict that can be related to the law applicable in that country. 

In the article, they advising to any international managers to collect all the information possible concerning how the law works in any specific country they are considering doing business with because “The level of judicial independence and efficiency differs widely among countries” (Sarkar, 2016a). For example, in China, they follow “rule by man and not by law” the tradition of which remains despite the country developing a model legal system (Sarkar, 2016a). That will be very important information to have before entering legal contracts with China. Another example I found interesting was Japan where the reliance on courts for conflict resolution is much lower compared to the US which is one of the most litigious societies in the world. On the other hand, “Japan is a ‘non-contractual’ society where contracts signed represent general understanding and are subject to change depending upon the circumstance” (Sarkar, 2016a). The article gives us the different types of legal systems we can encounter which are: Common Law, Civil law, Socialistic Law, and Theocratic Law. As mentioned in the article International law can be more complex than domestic law since it exemplifies a lot of different treaties. Here are the different types of legal systems I learn about while reading the article (principle of Sovereignty, Internal Jurisdiction, Doctrine of Comity, Treatment and Rights of Aliens, and Forum for Hearing and Settling Disputes. Here was some information about the article and some point I found interesting. I hope that you guys will enjoy learning about The Legal Environment and International Business as much as I did.

Here is the link for the article: Link

Reference

Sarkar, D. (2016b, March 10). Legal Environment and International Business. Retrieved from https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/international-trade/legal-environment-and-international-business/76221